For thousands of years, Chinese people have valued dietary therapy. For instance, eating black sesame for hair, red dates for blood, and walnuts for brain health are wisdom passed down from ancestors and an important part of traditional Chinese medicine. As early as in the "Huangdi Neijing · Wuchangzheng Da Lun Pian" (Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine), there is a record of "treating with shape", mentioning the view that walnuts, due to their appearance resembling the human brain, can nourish the brain. Moreover, the "Compendium of Materia Medica" records that walnuts have the effect of "tonifying the kidney and unblocking the brain, benefiting wisdom". However, for a long time, there have been different voices in society regarding whether walnuts can "treat with shape" to supplement brain nutrition, mainly due to the lack of clinical data or authoritative scientific evidence. At the 2024 Walnut and Brain Health Science Conference, the claim that eating walnuts helps brain health was confirmed. During the conference, the first Chinese scientific book "Walnuts and Brain Health Science" was released, comprehensively revealing seven evidence-based scientific principles of walnuts improving memory. Thus, walnut brain health has officially entered the "scientific era".

Walnut Brain Health Has Been Supported by Multiple Scientific Evidences

As a food-derived nutritional product, walnuts are not only delicious but also contain effects that promote brain development and enhance cognitive abilities. Their outstanding value in brain health and intelligence has become a research focus for many scientific teams. From the ancient "Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica" to the modern "Walnuts and Brain Health Science", the intelligence-enhancing and brain-nourishing effects of walnuts have spanned thousands of years and remain ever fresh. Scientific certification from authoritative research institutions provides solid theoretical support for walnuts. Research from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health has revealed a close link between walnuts and extended lifespan and reduced risk of cardiovascular disease. Eating a moderate amount of walnuts weekly can not only significantly reduce all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease mortality risk, but also significantly enhance learning and memory abilities, keeping the brain young and energetic. The Lancet sub-journal "EClinicalMedicine" published a six-month randomized controlled nutritional intervention trial in real humans, finding that eating walnuts for six consecutive months significantly improved attention, fluid intelligence, and ADHD symptoms. Furthermore, "Walnuts and Brain Health Science", which brings together research achievements from authoritative experts in related fields both domestically and internationally, confirms from biological, neurological, and other perspectives that walnuts can effectively improve memory. The book highlights seven scientific evidences of walnuts improving memory:

  • Evidence 1: Alleviating neuronal oxidative stress to enhance learning and memory. Walnut active components (such as antioxidant peptides) can reduce the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and enhance the activity of antioxidant enzymes.
  • Evidence 2: Reducing inflammation levels to enhance learning and memory. Omega-3 fatty acids, phenols, and flavonoids in walnuts can inhibit the production and release of inflammatory mediators.
  • Evidence 3: Clearing amyloid protein (Aβ) to improve learning and memory. Walnut lipophilic extracts and active peptides can intervene in Aβ metabolism, reduce its accumulation in the brain, have anti-amyloidogenic properties, inhibit Aβ fibrillization, and dissolve already formed fibrils, thereby improving cognitive function.
  • Evidence 4: Improving synaptic plasticity to enhance learning and memory. Walnut ethanol extracts and peptide substances regulate neurotransmitter release, enhance cellular response efficiency to transmitters, and promote synaptic plasticity.
  • Evidence 5: Repairing blood-brain barrier integrity to improve learning and memory. Walnut-derived peptides and the combination of walnut meal hydrolysate with tea polyphenols can maintain blood-brain barrier integrity, increase tight junction protein expression, prevent synaptic protein degeneration, and improve cognitive function.
  • Evidence 6: Improving hippocampal cell and mitochondrial autophagy to enhance learning and memory. Walnut active peptides can promote hippocampal autophagy, activate autophagy and regulate oxidative stress, promote autophagosome-lysosome fusion, alleviate oxidative stress and mitochondrial damage.
  • Evidence 7: Improving neurotransmitter levels to enhance learning and memory. Walnut active peptides regulate neurotransmitter synthesis and release, improve neural signal transmission, and enhance learning and memory abilities. Thus, scientific research continuously provides evidence: the various nutrients in walnuts indeed have a positive promoting effect on brain development and health. Modern science is gradually unveiling the mystery behind the nutritional value of walnuts. Sun Baoguo, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and chairman of the Chinese Institute of Food Science and Technology, pointed out that "Walnuts and Brain Health Science" is the first domestic work to systematically sort out and scientifically interpret the relationship between walnuts and brain health, which is of great significance. He specifically mentioned: "We should further study the mechanisms of action, functional components, and scientific connotation of nutrition and health of various components in walnuts, tell the Chinese walnut story well, continue to do a good job in popularizing the science of walnuts and brain health, and explain the profound principles between walnuts and brain health in language that ordinary people can understand, accept, and listen to, and state them truthfully." Six Walnuts Empowers Further Upgrading of Walnut Industry The transformation and upgrading of the walnut industry is an inevitable trend in current social and industry development, especially against the backdrop of increasingly prominent national brain health issues. Scientific intake of nutrients beneficial to the brain is particularly important. As a leading enterprise in China's plant-based protein beverage industry, Six Walnuts is committed to providing scientific brain nutrition solutions. Through strict raw material selection, production process upgrades, and product innovation, it continuously strengthens the functional exploration of walnuts in promoting brain health. To ensure product quality, Six Walnuts has established raw material bases in three golden walnut production areas: Xinjiang, Yunnan, and Taihang Mountain, with an annual walnut usage exceeding 100 million kilograms. To maximize walnut nutrition, the company continuously conducts technical research, and currently, multiple production processes are far ahead of the industry. Another important aspect of promoting the transformation and upgrading of the walnut industry is the deep integration of industry, academia, and research. It is understood that Six Walnuts has successively carried out comprehensive industry-academia-research cooperation with multiple domestic and foreign research institutions. For example, it cooperated with Hebei Medical University to carry out "Analysis of Components in Walnuts That Improve Mild Cognitive Impairment and Related Mechanism Research"; relying on the postdoctoral research workstation to carry out "Mechanism Research on the Function of Walnut Protein Peptides"; and jointly established the China Walnut Industry Research Institute with Beijing Technology and Business University to further realize the transformation and application of scientific research achievements. These collaborations not only enhance the company's R&D capabilities but also provide scientific basis for product innovation. The transformation and upgrading of the walnut industry, the scientific basis for walnut brain health, and the innovation of enterprise products are important trends and directions for the current development of the walnut industry. Xu Yajun, deputy dean of the School of Public Health at Peking University, said: "Only by understanding the underlying principles of brain memory and the nutritional mechanisms for improving memory can we transform nutrition and food research in this field into new quality productive forces, drive the new quality development of the industry, and truly bring a qualitative leap to the development and rational utilization of brain resources for individuals and even the country." As a leading enterprise in the walnut industry, Six Walnuts has played an important role in promoting the transformation, upgrading, and continuous innovation of the walnut industry. It continuously drives with technological innovation, empowers the walnut industry, achieves qualitative leaps, continues to deeply cultivate the walnut field, and promotes collaborative innovation in the upstream and downstream of the industry chain. From source cultivation to terminal sales, every link strives for excellence, making every sip of walnut beverage a dual enjoyment of health and deliciousness.